FLINT, MI – A new partnership between Mott Community College
and a Washington, D.C., manufacturer will give students a leg up in their careers with the best and latest programming software.

The partnership comes with the largest in-kind donation Mott
has ever received – a $55.8 million computer software grant for the CAD, design and
robotics areas.

Siemens, a global powerhouse in electronics and electrical
engineering, operating in the industry, energy, healthcare, and infrastructure
and cities sectors, partnered with Mott for the software donation. Siemens'
technology partnership with Mott community college goes back more than 15
years, according to a press release.

The new software would keep students up to speed in
real-world applications and would not be available without a grant such as
this, said Tom Crampton, Mott Community College dean of Regional Technology
Initiatives.

"As the software platforms that support programs continue to
become more sophisticated, it's really difficult for the colleges to access it,"
Crampton said. "The Siemens grant will give us that same sophisticated suit of
programs in digital manufacturing (you would see in the real world)."

The software can be used to make anything from a washing
machine to an airplane to an automobile.

The announcement of the grant will be made from Ford Field
in Detroit Wednesday, March 19, during the 2014 Automotive Summit at the
Manufacturing Symposium.

Students there will now have access to the same Siemens
"product lifecycle management" (PLM) software used in nearly every manufacturing
environment in the world – and by more than 80 percent of automakers – to improve
productivity and efficiency in the manufacturing process.

"The manufacturing industry in America is on the rise and it
is being transformed by a software revolution that is enhancing productivity,
increasing efficiency and speeding time to market," said Chuck Grindstaff,
president and CEO of Siemens PLM Software, in a written statement. "This
revolution requires a highly trained workforce.
With this grant, Mott Community
College will be able to integrate world-class PLM technology into its
curriculum, so that its students are even better prepared for co-op assignments
and for high-quality manufacturing jobs."

The partnership includes professional development, software
licensing in the future and technical support.

The new software should be ready to use by mechanical design
students this fall. Already, 200 students are in the design program at Mott and
the new software will open up new opportunities for students.

The software will help with the design process and
collect data before something is actually built, Crampton said.

"They're going to be familiar and capable of using the same
tool for the educational environment that they will use for the working
industry," he said. "What we're going to be able to do is put together a more
robust design environment that students will have to operate in now, so the
learning curve becomes shorter between college and the workplace. ... This is a real
opportunity."

This would not only benefit the students but local
entrepreneurs and the community as well, Crampton said. Students would interact with real clients and help design real machines.

Mott is focused on innovation and how new approaches are going to
drive opportunities, Crampton said.

The new software will help students store and collect more
data during the design process in order to have more successes, he said.

"We been trying to support that activity in Southeast
Michigan so we can teach people how to use the latest tools," Crampton said. "We're trying to
help our businesses take advantage of technology that can help them be more
profitable and more successful.

"You just can't be in this business without this kind of
software. ... To be able to get that kind of support is invaluable."

A new kind of
partnership

Along with the arrival of the new software this fall will
also come a new program to Mott Community College.

The pilot program of Michigan Advanced Technician Training started last fall with Oakland Community
College and Henry Ford Community College, in which students go through a three-year
program of a rotating class and work schedule.

This fall that program, organized by the Michigan Economic
Development Corporation, will come to Mott Community College, Macomb Community
College and Wayne County Community College.

Amy Cell, senior vice president of talent enhancement at the
MEDC, said the first year of the program has been very successful. It had two
community colleges, 30 students and 11 employers. For 2014, there will be a
target of 90 students, 30 to 50 employers, five community colleges and three
programs.

The program at Mott will train people with product design
while also giving them real life experience with a company, similar to
Kettering University's co-op program, Crampton said.

Students, roughly 15 for each college, will be enrolled in
the program with nine school rotations and nine work rotations. Each rotation
is seven weeks long.

Companies sponsor the students, paying for school and
providing a stipend while they are in school and then providing a wage while they are in
the work rotation. They will come out of the program with an associate's degree,
no college debt and with an agreement to work with the company that sponsored
them for at least two years, Crampton said.

"This is a very aggressive schedule," he said. "I really
like that model where we connect the work place and educational communities
together."

The list of participating companies should be finalized in
the next three to four months, Cell said.

The program, which targets high school seniors but is
open to wide variety of people, helps supply a bigger workforce in Michigan,
Cell said.

Students and employers have been satisfied so far with the
program, she said.

"There's a huge need for middle-skilled positions that
employers are struggling to fill," Cell said. "We want to provide different
types of opportunities in the state of Michigan."